Summary

Plot

Whit narrowly escapes unharmed. He and Lucy then meet a woman who lives in a cottage behind the old mansion. She is cautious and unfriendly and refuses to talk to Whit about the house. Whit persists with his investigation, even though James Wakefield insists that he stop. Whit refuses. With all Whit’s found out, he believes Kent’s not as crazy as he seems. Whit takes Kent to the Tate House, where Kent sees and recognizes the caretaker. She’s Mrs. Ullman, a woman who’d been the housekeeper there when Kent was a child. She screams and runs. Whit learns that Kent’s father did, in fact, survive the fire. But he was seriously burned and disfigured. He was first institutionalized, then released into the care of James Wakefield and moved to Tate Lodge, the house behind the burned-out mansion. In a climactic confrontation at the lodge, we learn that Kent’s father was mentally incapacitated by the fire. He lived as a servant with Mrs. Ullman. Ullman has been working for James Wakefield all these years. Wakefield is not Kent’s adopted uncle, but his real uncle on his mother’s side. Wakefield has been manipulating the lives of Kent and his father for years so that he would inherit the family fortune. The entire tragic scheme was merely a ploy to get money, and a living lesson that “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Mentioned in episode

Notes

PARENTS: This is a mystery, crafted in the traditional style of mysteries, which means there are a few scary spots. While older children should be able to handle the suspense, this story is not intended for younger listeners.